WPI*IFRIENDS Elite Credit Card Fraud: Bogus, unauthorized charges to credit card Lake Worth Florida
Within days of using my new & previously unused visa card at a national computer chain I began getting charges from an outfit I'd never heard of called WPI*IFRIENDS.
I've since discovered they're no friends of mine but are a porn site with (judging by the many web posts) a history of similar shady practices.
I will be filing a dispute with cardholder services and also informing the computer store of the coincidence.
As soon as I have a difinitive response I'll post a follow-up.
Michael
Ventura, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Steven
Lake Worth,Florida,
U.S.A.
classic experience of having been the victim of credit card fraud
#2UPDATE Employee
Mon, June 27, 2005
Reply from IF Customer Service (Call 1-800-243-9726, available 24-7)
Due to the anonymous nature and limited amount of information provided in this complaint, we are unable to locate an account matching the details provided by "Michael".
Michael describes a classic experience of having been the victim of credit card fraud, but he misattributes the source of that fraud to this company because charges for our services appeared on his credit card bill. We have encountered two distinct forms of internet credit card fraud in some internet transactions that we have processed:
1. True Person Fraud (also known as Friendly Fraud), in which a cardholder falsely denies ordering products and services online, is one of the fastest-growing forms of credit card fraud, according to credit-card industry executives. In this form of fraud, cardholders are perpetrators and merchants are victims.
2. Identity Theft, in which the criminal gains access to sensitive personal information, including credit-card details, and uses that information to defraud cardholders and merchants. In this form of fraud, individual thieves are the perpetrators, and cardholders, merchants, and the parent credit-card associations are collectively victims.
Judging by Michael's post, this clearly appears to be an instance of credit card theft. For that reason, we strongly encourage Michael to contact his local police department so that an investigation can be initiated to catch the perpetrator of the fraudulent transactions - we would be happy to provide his local law enforcement with any information that might assist them with their investigation. We also invite Michael to contact our offices so that we can cancel the account fraudulently established on his credit card, refund the charges incurred, and block any further charges from being incurred with our service. Our Customer Service Department can be reached 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week at (800) 243-9726.